A Gift, or a Curse?
by mandiekro
Summary: Aang and his father Gyatso have to leave yet another city after getting found out. Gyatso moves them to Dare County, a city with one of the highest bending populations in the US. But even with others like them, will they ever be free from prosecution? Or will they finally be able to stop running? Modern AU
1. Getaway

AN: Oh man, I have so much going on on here, but I am publishing yet another new story. This is a modern AU, but there's still bending. No one knows about bending, and so people are really freaked out by benders, so the benders have to hide and stuff.

* * *

Chapter 1: Getaway

"Freak!" "Mutant!" "Get out of our city!" "Yeah, we don't want you here!" The yells followed Aang down the street as he ran. He had protected his secret so well until now. What had happened? "Run, little mutant!" "Leave!" "Freak!"

He ran all the way home, the boys right on his tail. He would've used his powers to run faster, but he didn't want more people seeing him and thinking he was a mutant, especially if that someone had a cell phone and could call the police on him. He finally got to the little house he lived in. It was tucked in between to huge apartment buildings, discreet enough to not be noticed, and low enough to the ground to give them a quick escape.

"They found out." He told his father simply. Gyatso nodded and ran upstairs to his room to get his duffel bag. Aang grabbed old pictures off the walls and put them carefully in the bag that always sat ready to go in the corner of the living room. Then he ran up to his room and threw the few clothes that weren't already packed for a speedy getaway into a duffel bag that was sitting in his closet.

He grabbed Appa's leash, attached it to the giant white sheepdog's collar and walked him outside and into the backseat of his father's Jeep. The father and son gathered the last few things from their small house and put their bags in the car. Then they got in and drove away.

Aang sighed as he stared at their most recent neighbourhood for the last time. This wasn't the first time they'd had to leave a city in a hurry, but he still felt a pang of sadness as he thought of the friends who had become his enemies in an instant. "Where are we going this time Dad?" Aang asked Gyatso. "Dare County, North Carolina." His father responded almost automatically.

Ever since Aang's power had developed, Gyatso had always had a getaway plan at the ready. He wouldn't have the government or the CIA or the FBI or whatever other organization experimenting on his little boy. Even if his little boy was now fifteen years old.

It had always been like this for benders. Aang knew what he was, and he knew that there were others, and that it was hard for all of them. He had begged Gyatso to go somewhere where there was a significant number of other benders. His father had always thought that it would be more dangerous, since there would be more of a chance for ordinary people to find out about benders. But this time, he had thought that maybe they could try out Aang's idea. After all, they had tried everything else.

"Aang." Gyatso said. "Yeah?" Aang answered. "I though you might like to know that Dare County has one of the largest bender populations in the United States." He told his son. "Seriously?" Aang asked excitedly. "Yes. Of all kinds. Water, Earth, Fire, and Air."

Then they heard a shout of "Freaks!" from outside of the car. Gyatso gritted his teeth, opened his window, and shot a blast of air at one of the boys shouting at them. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

They stopped at a motel. Gyatso needed to make them new IDs and they both needed a shower and some sleep. They dragged Appa upstairs and the big dog immediately collapsed on one of the moth-eaten mattresses. Gyatso followed suit on the other mattress and Aang went to shower in the tiny bathroom.

When he came out, he got into bed next to Appa and crashed the second his head hit the- well, there wasn't a pillow. (It was an extremely cheap motel. The pair never had much money, seeing how they had to buy a new house a lot more than the average father and son.) He crashed the second his head hit the mattress.

* * *

"Oh crap." Aang muttered. He had just woken up from a dream about being chased to the edge of a cliff by those guys, and he had had to use his power to save himself. They had called the police and he had been dragged away in chains. It had been horrible.

His father had evidently woken up a while ago, which made Aang wonder how long he'd been asleep, but that wasn't what had made him swear. Gyatso had turned on their tiny portable radio to a popular news station in their old neighbourhood, and the newscaster was in the middle of saying, "Aang and Gyatso Grey, wanted for potentially possessing mutant powers..."

"We'd better go." Gyatso said. "Did you make the IDs?" Aang asked his father as he got up and started shaking Appa awake. "Yes. Meet Gyatso Summers." He said, holding up a shiny North Carolina drivers license and Social Security card. He handed Aang his own identification. The boy smiled slightly at their new surname. "Like Scott." Aang remarked with a grin.

Aang and Gyatso both loved the X-Men, and often took on the surnames of the characters from the mutant-centric comics. This time, Scott Summers, last time, Jean Grey, the time before that, Kitty Pryde, etc.

"Come on. Get Appa up and let's go." Gyatso said, laughing slightly as Aang tugged at the big dog's collar, shook him, and tried to lift him to no avail. Gyatso finally walked over and tugged slightly on Appa's tail. The dog erupted from the bed with an annoyed howl, but followed his owners out and down to the car.

They were passing through the lobby of the motel when the man at the front desk shouted, "Hey! You're those people they want in the city!" Aang bit back a curse. "Run." Gyatso muttered. And run they did. They loaded Appa into the backseat, got into the old Jeep, and were off at top speed.

* * *

Several days later, after wearing out his supply of books, sucking all the power out of both his phone and his father's laptop, and stopping at two more crappy motels, Aang was relieved when Gyatso told him that they were less than an hour away from Dare County. Gyatso had, of course already bought a residence and enrolled Aang in the local high school. For most teens, starting a new school in the middle of the year would've been intensely awkward, but Aang had already done it dozens of times.

They finally pulled into the driveway of a duplex. Gyatso told him that there were already people leaving on the lower floor, and they would be moving in upstairs. Aang pretended to look upset at this, since his father usually wanted a home low to the ground in case they needed to get out fast, but Aang loved heights.

Aang dragged his duffel bag into the house and up the stairs to his new home. It was rather spacious, with no furniture yet, but that was okay. They would get some cheap stuff somewhere. Appa, it seemed, had already chosen a room for Aang. It was painted a pale yellow that Aang found extremely calming, and had a built-in closet and a shelf above where, he assumed, the bed had been when someone else was living in here.

Aang opened his duffel bag, pulled out his small collection of books, and stacked them carefully on the shelf, then threw his duffel bag into the closet and flopped down next to Appa on the wooden floor. "There. Home sweet home." He told the dog. Then he heard his father come in and remembered the other bags that needed lugging, and he ran back outside to the car.

When he had dragged up their fourth and final duffel bag and deposited it in another built-in closet in the hallway, he heard the doorbell ring. He ran to open it. It was a pretty girl with short brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a bored expression. She wore blue jeans and a green top with only one shoulder, and green high top Converse. A woman who resembled her slightly stood behind her, her face placid and her posture rigid, like there was a broom where her spine should be.

"Um, hi." He said, confused. The older woman motioned to the girl, and she sighed and said on a monotone, "Hi, I'm Suki Green, this is my aunt Kyoshi, and we want to welcome you to the neighbourhood blah blah blah. We live downstairs and if you need help with getting settled or whatever, we're usually home."

"Kyoshi?" Aang's father had walked up behind him while Suki was talking. "Yes. I apologize for my niece's behaviour and-" "No, it is quite alright. Would you like to come in for some tea?" Gyatso asked. Kyoshi smiled slighty and raised an eyebrow. "Tea? How archaic." She said. "Well, those who cling to the old ways will always find a friend." Gyatso replied.

"What the hell?" Aang hissed to Suki. "No idea." She whispered back. "By the way, what's your name?" She asked. "I'm Aang, and this is my father Gyatso. Nice to meet you." He said, holding out his hand. She shook it.

"To be honest, I don't even like tea that much. My dad's obsessed though, so I stomach it." Aang said. "I'm not a huge fan either." Suki said. "So, uh, not to pry, but why do you live with your aunt?" Aang asked. Suki's expression hardened. "Another time. Now, come on. Let's get this over with. I have places to go." She said. "Sheesh." He muttered, and followed Suki into the kitchen.

"So, um, you go to Dare High?" Aang asked Suki. He felt extremely awkward after the occurrence in the hallway. They were sitting cross-legged on the floor since they didn't have a table yet, and Kyoshi and Gyatso were talking quietly while sipping tea. "Yeah." She said. "Well, I've got to go. I'm meeting Jin at Denny's. See you tomorrow." She said, half to her aunt and half to me as she got up. "Bye." Aang said.

Shortly afterwards he went to his room and lay down on the floor with Appa and his copy of the Lightning Thief. He smiled as he curled up against the sleeping dog and began to read. 'My name is Percy Jackson...'


	2. School

Chapter 2: School

Aang woke up that morning using Appa as a pillow and with the Lightning Thief lying at the other side of the room. He was about to roll over and try to go back to sleep, but then he remembered that it was Monday, He had school. He groaned, but got up and went to shower. He got out, pulled on a yellow T-shirt, a red sweatshirt, and dark jeans, and went to have breakfast.

His father drove him to school. "Don't be antisocial." Gyatso mentioned as they drove. "When am I ever?" Aang asked jokingly. "Hand it over." Gyatso said, not taking his eyes off the road. Aang groaned and pulled the Lightning Thief out of his bag and put it on the dashboard. "Have fun." Gyatso said as he pulled up next to the school. "Bye." Aang waved.

* * *

He walked into the schoolyard. There were groups of kids everywhere, talking, laughing, shouting, waving. He spotted Suki with a group of girls. He bit his lip as he tried to decide whether he was allowed to go over there and say hi so that he would feel less like a dork. And then he was assaulted.

"Shit!" He shouted as someone jumped on his back and laughed maniacally. "Bumi! Get off of him!" A kid wearing red yelled as he ran over to them. The kid, Bumi, got off of Aang's back. He looked at him. He wore a green shirt that read, 'Nutso!' and ripped jeans. He wasn't wearing shoes. His eyes were wild, just like his hair, which was died a dark pink.

"Hey! I'm Bumi!" He said, sticking out a hand. Aang shook it warily. "Hi. Sorry about him. He's a bit... well..." "Mad! I'm a mad genius!" Bumi interrupted the other kid. The other kid looked substantially less insane. He wore a red T-shirt under a black sweatshirt and dark jeans with red sneakers. He had brown hair that had a fiery red streak died into it and golden eyes. "I'm Kuzon." He said. Aang shook his hand with a lot less nervousness than with Bumi.

"I'm Aang." He said. "Nice to meet you Aang. We haven't had a new kid come here in awhile." Kuzon said, smiling at me. "Yeah! It's like they're scared of us or something!" Bumi shrieked. "Imagine that." I said dryly. Kuzon laughed. Then some other people approached us.

"Who's the new meat?" A girl wearing dark sunglasses asked. Her hair was black and tied up messily, and I couldn't see her eyes. Apart from her sunglasses, she wore camouflage jeans, green high top sneakers, and a tank top that proudly stated, 'Teenage Runaway'. She also had a pair of green Beats slung around her neck and a weird black bracelet around her upper arm.

"Who's asking?" Aang replied. Bumi, Kuzon, and the girl's companion stared at him like he was nuts, but the girl just laughed. "I like you, kid. I'm Toph." She said, and punched him lightly in the arm. "I'm Aang." He said. "Oh. You're the kid who moved in on top of Suki." The guy who had come over with Toph said.

He was wearing a blue T-shirt with a picture of a boomerang on it, blue Converse and jeans. He wore his brown hair in a tiny ponytail that made him look kind of weird. "I'm Sokka. And if Suki didn't kill you on the spot, then you must be alright." He said, holding out a hand for me to shake. I shook it.

"So, we'll show you some of the others. That's Suki, Jin Li, Yue White, Korra Blue, Asami Sato, Jinora... uh... I forget her last name, and some other girls I forget the names of." Sokka said, pointing to Suki's group of friends, all either freshman or sophomore girls.

The Jin girl had long brown hair worn tucked under a green beanie, and was wearing a short green dress over black leggings and green high top sneakers. Yue was wearing a white skirt and a blue tank top with blue flat shoes. Korra wore a black shirt that proclaimed, 'Fuck you' in pink neon, and blue leggings with blue high top sneakers, Asami was wearing a dark red tank top and black leggings, one arm possessing a gold watch and the other covered in silver bracelets. Jinora wore a yellow tank top, red shorts and yellow converse.

"Then, that's the 'royalty' as we like to call them." Kuzon said, pointing to a group of kids who definitely looked like they thought they were better than everyone else. "That's Azula and Zuko Agni, Mai Anderson, Ty Lee Nastale and Hide Sho." Azula was wearing all red including jewelry, boots, and a red hat that looked like it had a tiara on it or something except for a blue shirt that read, 'Obey'. Mai was wearing a dark red knit sweater and black jeans with dark red and black Converse. Ty Lee was dressed all in pink, and Zuko and Hide were wearing pretty much the same thing as Kuzon.

"The other kids over there are what we like to call the subjects," Bumi said, taking over, "They hang out with the royals, but they aren't really with them. They hang out more with each other than the royals, and aren't assholes. That one's On Ji Fire. Kuzon has a huge crush on her." He said, giggling. "Shut up! She's with Hide." Kuzon said, smacking Bumi upside the head, but he didn't deny it. On Ji wore a red tank top and a black skirt and was wearing red high top sneakers and dancing to some song that was playing through her red Beats.

"And those are the 'hipsters' as they want to be called." Toph said, pointing to a group standing next to the fence. "Jet, the Duke, Pipsqueak, Skoochy, Longshot, Smellerbee, and-" "My sister." Sokka interrupted. "Katara." Katara was wearing a blue tank top, blue tie-dye Converse, and blue jeans. She was wearing a blue necklace with a strange blue pendant and big black glasses. She was listening to some song through these really awesome earbuds in which one of them was the head of a shark and the other was the tail. Jet, who was wearing an orange T-shirt and dark jeans, had one arm slung around her shoulders.

"She's with Jet?" Aang asked. "Unfortunately. He's kind of a douchebag, but Katara hasn't noticed it yet. She thinks he's awesome, that he trusts her to take care of herself, but in reality, he just doesn't give a shit if someone beats her up." Sokka said angrily. "So your hate his guts?" Aang asked Sokka. "All of us do." Toph said.

"Anyways, we're gonna go check out this abandoned mansion just outside of town after school. Some people say it's haunted, and I've been wanting to go see it forever. You in?" Kuzon asked excitedly. "Sure." Aang said. "Awesome. It took ages to convince this one to come along." Toph said, jerking a thumb at Sokka. "Hey!" He shouted. They all laughed.

* * *

"So, how do you have for homeroom?" Kuzon asked. Aang glanced down at the schedule he had just gotten from the office. "Uh, Professor Wang Fire." Aang said. "Lucky! He's my favourite teacher. He teaches sciences. But he only does freshman homerooms, so I couldn't have gotten him anyways." Sokka said. "He's also On Ji's uncle." Bumi laughed, elbowing Kuzon. "Shut up." Kuzon muttered.

"Who do you guys have?" Aang asked Toph, Bumi and Kuzon. "We have Professor Fire with you, and Toph has Mr. Agni. He's Azula and Zuko's uncle, Iroh, but he's cool, and he calms Zuko down a bit. He really pisses Azula off though." Kuzon said.

"Hey Bolin!" Sokka suddenly shouted across the hall. "Bolin?" Aang asked. "That's Bolin and his brother Mako. Remember Korra?" She asked. Aang nodded. "Well they both like her, but they don't know about the other one. And Korra's completely oblivious. It's kind of funny." Toph said, smirking.

Bolin was wearing a green shirt that asked us 'Why so serious?', green sneakers and dark jeans. When Aang caught a glimpse of his brother, he couldn't help but wonder if Bolin's shirt was asking Mako the question. He wore a black T-shirt, black sneakers and black jeans under a grey trench coat. The only ounce of color on his entire person was a bright red scarf around his neck.

"Teo! Haru!" Sokka shouted again at two other people. "Sokka has a lot of friends." Aang remarked. Toph nodded. Then the bell rang and the hallways started to clear as everyone went to homeroom. Bumi grabbed Aang's arm and dragged him along as he and Kuzon ran to room 112 [AN: See what I did there?].

* * *

AN: So you've been introduced to our cast of characters. Mostly. I think. So far. Anyways, THIS IS NOT JUST GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE FICS WHERE THEY ARE IN HIGH SCHOOL AND HAVE HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA. I mean, there'll be some drama obviously cuz they _are_ in high school, but it's not just going to be that. I think next chapter might be more about Katara. Maybe. I don't know. And before you ask, they are not going to all be in character all the time, like, their behaviours and personalities will differ from how the show does them, especially characters like On Ji and Hide, or the Freedom Fighters, or Jin, because we don't really know much about them anyways. So yeah.


End file.
